Touketsu Jubaku
by OhBreadsticks
Summary: HitsuKarin AU "Love is an act of faith, Toshiro." "Oh? Well, any kind of faith she might have had for me was lost the moment I made her a prisoner in this castle, don't you think, father?" He hissed. Ukitake sighed. He was right.
1. Once upon a Time

**A/N:** Hi! So...this is my second Bleach fic, more precisely HitsuKarin. I hope you don't chew me too much for not having a fluent English, since I'm Portuguese.  
Okay, so to the details...yes, this may resemble Beauty and the Beast slightly, but no, it's not. The title, Touketsu Jubaku, means Frozen Curse, which is pretty much of a hint for this story.  
I hope you enjoy it! Here are the ages of some characters in this chapter for you to know.

Karin- Flashback: 10; Current time:19  
Yuzu-Flashback: 10; Current time:19  
Isshin-Flashback:37; Current time: 46  
Masaki-Flashback:35; Current time:44

_Soft feet padded against the snow, the sound of childish giggles in the air, as two small children ran to a small cottage in the dark afternoon. One of them opened the door, and the two small kids stopped for a bit to appreciate the soft smell of food and the warmth of the fireplace, before they took out their shoes and entered. A girl with short sandy colored hair grinned and instantly ran further inside the house, calling happily for her mother, while the black haired girl closed the door and hung her cloak, sniffing and scrunching her small nose, looking cross eyed at the small piece of snow in it, and brushing it of with hand, before she entered further into their house, embracing the warmth that came from the fireplace and warmed her skin after a long day playing outside. Expecting her with a warm blanket was her loving mother, Masaki, her soft wavy hair tied in a braid and resting on her shoulder. The girl gratefully allowed the woman to put the cloth over her shoulder, sighing in content, after she joined her sister in the fireplace. Smiling with the sound of their giggles, the woman handed them each a cup of hot chocolate._

The black-haired girl sighed, leaning her face close to the steaming liquid, closing her eyes as she appreciated the warmth. The soft sound of the door opening alerted her senses, yet she didn't open her eyes, although her attention was not in gathering heat anymore. She heard her father's heavy footsteps approaching the table, and then he stopped. Karin opened her eyes slightly, and glanced at Yuzu, who had visibly paled, her eyes wide, and eagerly waiting for her father to speak.

"Well?" She heard Masaki's trembling voice from behind her, and then a long, aggravated silence filled the room, until Isshin finally spoke the words that sent her mother and Yuzu in a flow of tears.

"...They didn't find anything." Yuzu began sobbing, hiccuping, nearly going into hysterics when Masaki hugged her. Masaki extended her arm towards Karin, and gathered the twins in her arms, one crying hysterically, and the other with a blank face, her eyes dull as she refused to look at her mother, instead, they darted to the fireplace, who seemed to be cackling at their misfortune. She knew her brother would not come back. She had put it clearly in her head the day he went to do his job at the castle, and then, just as everyone else in Karakura that worked under the castle, they never came back. Her hopes that he would return, grinning like a nutcase and demanding something to eat, never existed. So, she simply sat there, letting her family drown her in tears, swearing never to spill those salty waters again.

_**9 Years Later**_

Dusting the dirt off her dress, Karin scoffed and looked back as she dusted off her hands, muttering lines of something like 'stuck up jerk' and 'worse brother in law' before she called out.

"You fight like a girl Jinta!" The young man on the ground suddenly stood up and snorted.

"At least I'm not one!" The 19 year old girl rolled her eyes, walking away as if he wasn't worthy of her time-which in her mind, he wasn't.

"Yeah, yeah! Come back when you know how to throw a punch!" Ignoring the yells and insults her future brother-in-law threw at her, she quickly picked up the basket and kept walking to the Shiba Store, already wincing as she heard feminine yells of anger, crashes, and then two girly, but without a doubt male, yells of pain. Opening the door of the store, the three siblings halted in their actions, making Karin explode in laughter at the visage. Ganju was smashed against the wall, Kuukaku trying to claw his hair out, with one foot on Kaien's head, who was apparently trying to yank the large piece of bread from Ganju's mouth, using his right hand to push Kuukaku away by the waist. In the matter of a second, they both straightened up, Ganju coughing the rest of the bread out, Kaien looking at his brother with a disgusted look, and Kuukaku grinning at Karin, who rolled her eyes and walked into the store, setting down the basket and putting the sewing material on the counter, and then turning to put an apron on. The Shiba's ran the dress store in town, all of them being tailors. Aside from helping her father at the clinic, Karin also helped the Shiba's at the store. But not with the sewing. She couldn't sew for the life of her. She just attended to the costumers, ran errands, and sometimes she travelled to deliver some vestments in nearby towns.

Kuukaku laughed, and threw an arm around Karin's shoulders, grinning.

"Mornin' Karin!" The girl grinned back and greeted her back before checking the day's list of errands she had to run. Kaien chuckled, and walked closer to the counter, Ganju trailing behind.

"Had a nice morning? Beating Jinta's ass again I presume?" She nodded, and then smirked knowingly as she saw the wonder trio gather around her with anxious smiles, and crossed her arms.

"Alright, spill it." Kuukaku laughed, and out of nowhere popped up a bottle of sake, taking a sip, wrapping her arm around the girl once more before talking.

"We need 'ya to go over to Seireitei to deliver this kimono to a gal called Nemu. For a wedding or somethin'. But that's not for me to know and for you to care." Kaien smiled and did his famous trick of puppy eyes.

"C'mon Kurosaki, please?" She smirked.

"Well...maayybeee..." But her good will was instantly blown away as Ganju suddenly appeared beside Kaien's cute façade, trying to formulate the same move, looking more like a pig who just got kicked in the face. And kicked he was, courtesy of Kuukaku and Kaien, who now stood above the whimpering man beating him mercilessly.

"You idiot! You looked like a freaking boar over there! Tryin' to kill the girl?!" Karin chuckled, waving her hand dismissively in the air.

"Nah, no worries. I'll go." Kaien and Kuukaku looked over her and grinned.

"Thanks kid." Kaien said, ruffling her black hair into a messy thing. Karin shrugged, and picked up the box with the kimono.

"I had nothing better to do anyways. I'll be back in a couple days. Ja!" She exclaimed as she left, shaking her head in amusement as she heard the chorus of goodbye's from the brothers. Walking no more than 10 feet, she soon arrived to the cottage where she lived, opening the door to find Yuzu cooking what seemed to be a snack. Her twin turned around, her long hair and her pink dress swaying with her movements, as she smiled warmly at her sister.

"Hi Karin!" Karin smiled at Yuzu, putting the box on top of the table, and peering over Yuzu's shoulder to see what she was going to cook. Yuzu smiled, amused, and mouthed an 'oh' before tilting her head in her sister's direction.

"Oh by the way, Karin-chan, Tou-san asked you to go by new supplies for the clinic in Rukongai." Yuzu seemed to shudder as she spoke the name of the village. Karin sighed, and started to look at the list on the table, with the list of the medicine and enough money for the supplies in it.

"Where's Kaa-san and Oyaji?" She called from the table, trying to make a mental list of what she needed in case she lost the paper.

"They went to Chad-san's house. His uncle hurt himself on the woods yesterday." Karin simply nodded, and then went to her room to get some basic belongings that she would need for the 2 day trip. One day to arrive and do her errands, and another day to return,

Opening the old linen messenger bag given to her years ago for the errands, Karin put on the money, the list of the medicines, a knife for protection and if she needed to hunt, and left some space for her to put on food. She straightened, and started to nibble on her thumb, trying to make a mental picture of what she would need, when Yuzu's voice came from the kitchen.

"It's okay for you to go, Karin-chan?" Muttering a small 'huh?', Karin quickly answered.

"Yeah, I need to give this kimono over in Seireitei, and Rukongai's on the way, so no problem." A small moment of silence came, and then Yuzu spoke again.

"I could come with you if you wanted." Karin halted in what she was doing, and walked over to the kitchen, calling for Yuzu's attention with her expression of disbelief.

"Seriously Yuzu? Seriously? C'mon Yuzu, you hate Rukongai! It gives you the creeps." She exclaimed, crossing her arms and tapping her foot, her black leggings under her blue dress brushing against her skin with the movement. Yuzu blushed, and started to stammer.

"I was just wondering if you wanted some company or something." Karin smiled playfully at Yuzu, wrapping an arm around her neck.

"Nah, I'll be fine! I've done this tons of times. Besides, you have to plan your wedding with Jinta-no-teme, right?" Yuzu giggled, and Karin chuckled in accomplishment, retrieving her arm from her twin, stepping back.

"I'll be fine." She repeated. "Now make me some snacks for the trip." She added playfully, vanishing in her room once again, as Yuzu smiled.

Karin came out a few moments later, having changed from the blue dress to a red one, the one she usually used for cold trips, since it was comfortably warm. As she began to tie her boot's shoelaces, Yuzu started placing the food in her messenger back, her motherly side kicking as she started to inspect if there was something Karin could have forgotten. Concluding that everything was well, she smiled as Karin tied the white cloak around her neck, putting on a pair of old black gloves, to avoid getting a frostbite. Yuzu accompanied Karin outside, observing as her sister prepared the Palomino Horse, fastening the straps of the saddle, then proceeding to tied the box behind the saddle, before she swung her leg over the horse's torso and sat up, taking the reins in her hands, smiling down at Yuzu.

"Don't worry," With a flick of her wrist, the horse started trotting, as Karin yelled over her shoulder.

"See you in two days!" Yuzu sighed, and turned around to enter the house.

Karin smiled in content, letting the cold breeze wash over her face, as she heard the birds chirping. Things went along quite well, in her opinion.

Yet, fate works in many strange ways, so she might have something unexpected waiting for her.


	2. In a Cursed Land

**A/n:** So, here I am again, off to drop one more chapter of this fic I love. I wanted to request you people something. Please review! I need the reviews to know what did you like, what confuses you, if I'm doing a good job and everything else. Believe me, I got THOUSANDS of Story Alerts and Favorite Lists, but few reviews. I'm not asking for huge speeches, I even enjoy one-word reviews like 'Nice!' So please, drop in a review.

Sorry for the short chapter!!

So here it is, Chapter 2!

* * *

Straightening the straps of her messenger bag, Karin nodded to the old vendor before commanding the horse to trot out of Rukongai. As she slowly entered the forest, she sighed with relief. True, she didn't show it nor she was as uncomfortable as Yuzu, but Karin disliked Rukongai with a fiery passion. It was a poor village, the women there who didn't carry a weapon were rare, and rare were the times where the men found themselves sober. She strongly welcomed the faint breeze of the forest as she got deeper inside. The forest carried the heavy scent of moss, wet wood, the humidity from the soft dew in the trees and obviously the heavy scent of the frozen earth. She loved them all. It was probably from habit. Ever since she was a little girl, she always went to the forest with Ichigo to pick up flowers for Masaki.

Her hands tightened on the reigns and her face contorted with uneasiness at the thought of her brother. Looking down at her horse, she furrowed her brows into a frown when she noticed her horse's position more slackened than usual. Reaching one of her hands out to grasp her horse's fur, clicking her tongue in disappointment when she felt it wet from the sweat, and the horse's body panting under her fingers. Maybe she should call it a day and sleep in the forest. Quickly, she shook her head, pursing her lips. No, it had been 2 days already. If she took any longer, everybody would start to panic, and think that something happened to her just like the mysterious disappearance of all those workers in the castle. Looking up, she suddenly halted, pulling the horse's reigns to obey the command. With a small gruff sound, the horse stopped, clicking its left hoof on the ground a few times, before shaking it's head and finally stopping.

Karin gazed at the place she had reached. Fighting back the shiver running up her spine, she gazed at the two trails before her. On the right, the wide path with a small amount of snow, probably wiped off by somebody in the mornings so that the travellers could walk better in such path, was a sign, made of old wood, with the dry, old, black paint having 'Karakura' written in it. The other, was barely visible. Thick foliage covered the path filled with snow, the dense trees covering all traces of sun that could have hit the path, making it impossible to see where the path went, although she knew. She knew from the empty feeling in the pit of her stomach to the old wooden boards blocking the path. This was the path to the castle. The castle that, years ago, had been named as a cursed place. The castle where her brother worked, and the castle where he never came back from.

As she turned the horse in that direction, it started to trash around, trotting backwards in fright, as if he could feel the deadly aura looming around the path. Reaching out her hand to pat her horse's neck soothingly, Karin got off the horse, tying it's reigns in a tree branch near some visible grass, so that he could rest while she walked forward.

Easily taking off the old boards that weakly covered the path to the castle, Karin wandered into the closed path that lead to the castle. A cold splash spread in the pit of her stomach as she remembered that once, this path was wide, sunny no matter what was the season, and people came and went from this path, not paying heed to the rain that had started falling.

Pressing her lips in fright as she heard strange noises around her in the thick foliage, Karin quickened her step, and suddenly stopped, her feet rooted on the spot as she colided with the gate to the castle.

The place frightened her to no end. The gates were pitch black, statues and pillars with mournful faces facing her direction, as if they were horrified by her presence. What she once remembered being the most beautiful garden she had ever laid her eyes upon, was now an empty field, filled with nothing but grey dust. She felt a overwhelming uneasiness settling in the pit of her stomach, at the sight of that immense, glorious castle, completely quiet, and not even a soul in there. It made her wonder. What happened in here? What happened to the people who lived here? Who worked here? What happened to the royal family? The warm, loving, King, Queen and little Prince that suddenly disappeared?

Karin saw something in the corner of her eye, and she snapped her head to the right, eyes filled with alarm. Betraying her orders, Karin's feet began to move, walking in the direction of that particular window, high up in the tower, as she walked beside the large, tall iron fence that covered the castle's grounds. Up there, in that tower, behind the wet glass of the window, she saw someone. Someone was in there. Leaning forward, she tried to see the shadow inside the castle again, ignoring the heavy rain falling upon her. A glint of turquoise light revealed itself inside the dark room. No, not light. Were those eyes...?

She screamed in fright, as a strong had grabbed her arm roughly from the other side of the bars, and brought her forward, almost slamming her against the fence. Looking up at attacker, Karin gasped, her eyes widening. It had been 9 years. His face had changed, it looked even older under the rain, and that hair was wet, clinging to his face, also a shade darker. But she knew those eyes.

"I-Ichi-nii?!" He looked alarmed, scared. His grip on her arm loosened, but it was still secure, as he brought forward another hand, now holding each of her arms, forcing her to face him. She brought her hands to the other side of the bars, and started to run her fingertips through his face, reliving the moment, not wanting for him to disappear.

"Karin." He spoke affectionately. That voice. Yes, this was her brother.

"I thought you were dead..." Her voice cracked at the end, and his eyes seemed to soften, yet they remained with that lingering feeling of danger. Gripping her arms again, he shook her lightly.

"Listen to me Karin, you have to get out of here! You shouldn't have come!" Her eyes widened in shock, but it was quickly replaced with anger. Slapping his hands away, she took a step back, glaring at him.

"What?!" She hissed in a low tone. "You expect me to leave you?! No! Why did you disappear?! What happened?! Why didn't you come back!?" He gave a soft smile, barely a twitch of the lips, and brought his hand forward, brushing his fingertips in her wet hair.

"You've grown..." He mumbled. His hand then trailed down and grabbed her hand in a fierce grip.

"Please listen to me Karin. Go back! Leave this place, don't come back!" As she was about to retort rudely, they both jumped in fright when they heard a loud bang from a door opening inside the castle, followed by numerous banging noises. He looked back at Karin, and the look of horror in his face was grave.

"Karin, listen to me! This is dangerous!"

"Ichigo!" Looking over his shoulder, Karin saw a small woman, around her brother's age, her pitch black hair clinging to her alarmed face as she paced nervously. Ichigo nodded, and once again turned back to Karin.

"Please Karin! Get out of here, and don't tell anyone!" She opened her mouth to try to speak, but her brother's pleading tone broke her. "Please!"

The huge crashing sound coming closer from the door made Ichigo let go of her, and Karin immediately started walking backwards.

"Go!" He hissed.

She finally started to run.

She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, not minding the cuts she got from running back the thick path, until she reached her horse and jumped to his flank, startling it, but she payed no heed to it. She pulled hard in it's reigns, making the horse gallop at full speed towards the village, as she sat there, trembling and alarmed. But one thing was for sure.

She _would _return to that castle.


	3. There was a Prince

**A/n:** Okay, so, most of you guys probably already heard of the Torin Awards that I and SHIROUchan99 are organizing. It's gonna be great! There are 13 categories for you to vote until July 28th, when the polls will close, and then on July 30th It'll be announced! :D  
Vote guys, vote! Go to  / forum / TheAnnualTorinAwardForum / 49024 / and of course, without the gaps. ;D  
See you on the 30th! Vote guys!

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to **SHIROUchan99**, **GrnEydDvl, Ming24, Alluna and LithiumRukia** for being the awesome people they are. Thanks!

* * *

In the town of Karakura, all was prosper and friendly. Everyone knew each others, and the air always had a tint of cheerfulness in it. In that fine morning, when the sun was particularly sunny despite the snowy weather, an old man decided to take a walk near the entry to the forest, basking himself in what little warmth he can get.

However, when a stallion suddenly exited the forest and almost ran over him, only halting two inches away from his face, the man fell to the ground, his eyes wide with fright, knowing his morning had been ruined as he felt the old sensation of his pants suddenly getting too damp and wet. His poor soul couldn't take all the sheer pressure of the moment, thus he fainted from the shock.

Karin barely gave herself the time to glance sheepishly at the old man before she let herself off the horse, allowing her body to fall to the ground shakily, as she gazed ahead, still dumbstruck. After what happened, she had forced the horse to gallop to the village the whole night. She was tired, she was shocked. She was...confused. Seeing her brother, it made her so happy. He wasn't dead. He held her, touched her, talked to her. She had felt him, his calloused skin under her fingers, his eyes boring to hers. Her brother was _alive_.

Her fingers curled on the dirt as her eyes hardened with anger.

_"You shouldn't have come here!"_

Something was wrong. Her brother couldn't leave that castle. And apparently he wasn't the only one.

_"Ichigo!" Looking over his shoulder, Karin saw a small woman, around her brother's age, her pitch black hair clinging to her alarmed face as she paced nervously._

There were other people inside that castle. Everyone who had disappeared on that dreadful day were still inside that castle. But...why? What kept them in there?

Yelling in frustration, she scratched her hands all over her scalp, putting her hair in a disarray, standing up and brushing the dirt from her dress. She was going to get some facts straight. But first...

Reaching to the messenger bag, Karin took out a bottle of medicine, checking to see if it wasn't a vital one, then she threw it to the bush. Then, she grabbed the horse's reins and went in the direction of their hut.

By seeing Yuzu's smiling face at the door, Karin smirked and fastened her pace to tell her the great news, when she suddenly halted.

_"Please Karin! Get out of here, and don't tell anyone!"_

Her fingers curled in two tight fists, her jaw snapping shut almost painfully, and she resisted the urge to yell in frustration once again. Seeing Yuzu's worried face, her head tilted to the side with puzzlement, letting the question unheard, Karin shook her head, forcing a smile as she returned the horse to the stables, allowing the poor thing to rest after the rush of emotions in the last hours.

"It's nothing. How's everybody?" Yuzu's eyes immediately sparkled and she clasped her hands together, making her breasts bounce with the movement. Seriously, _where_ had she gotten those boobs? Their breast size was millions of years away from each other!

"Mom and Dad are inside with Inoue-san, and my wedding dress arrives this week!" She spoke with such bubbly voice that made Karin feel slightly bittersweet about it as she finally understood _who_ was with her parents.

Inoue Orihime was a friend of Ichigo's, and she was engaged with Ishida Uryuu, apparently Ichigo's enemy. However, a week before the wedding, Ishida, along with the others, disappeared ever since he went to the castle to work. Ishida was a rich man, and he worked as one of the King's tailors, which always gave him an excuse to feel superior to Ichigo.

Collecting her posture, Karin straightened her back and opened the door to their home.

"KARIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!" Her father came running to her with open arms, and Karin came to him to embrace him. Which meant that, the next moment, Isshin was left on the floor in a pile of bruises and footprints.

"M-My offspring...is so mean towards me..." Karin rolled her eyes, walking in the kitchen where she found Orihime and Masaki in a pleasant conversation. At the sight of her, Orihime smiled and stood up.

"Hello Karin-chan." Karin curled her lips upwards and nodded politely at the woman.

"Hello Inoue-san. Hi Oka-san." Masaki stood up so that she could hug her daughter, all with a small smile on her face.

"Hi sweetie. How was the trip?" Karin's smile wavered, as her body suddenly tensed.

_'Karin saw something in the corner of her eye, and she snapped her head to the right, eyes filled with alarm.'_

_'Up there, in that tower, behind the wet glass of the window, she saw someone.'_

_'Were those eyes...?'_

_'"I-Ichi-nii?!" He looked alarmed, scared.'_

_"Please listen to me Karin. Go back! Leave this place, don't come back!"_

_'The huge crashing sound coming closer from the door made Ichigo let go of her, and Karin immediately started walking backwards._

_"Go!" He hissed.'_

Karin got brought out of her daze when Masaki slightly shook her shoulders.

"Sweetie? Are you okay?" Karin blinked, and then she laughed nervously.

"O-oh! Sorry mom, I was distracted. The trip went fine! Just dandy!" She grinned to accent the fake sheepishness, as she put down the messenger bag just as Isshin came in, bruised and supported by a concerned Yuzu.

Masaki put her hands on her hips and spoke playfully,

"What on earth's name happened to you?" Immediately, Isshin flung himself to his wife, rivers of tears falling down as he wailed.

"MASAKI-CHAN!! OUR DAUGHTER IS SO MEAN TO ME!!" Karin twitched, and proceeded to kick Isshin in the shins.

"That's 'cause you overreact, you ol'goat!" She harrumphed, and then waltzed up to the room that she and Yuzu shared. Not for long at least. As soon as Yuzu got married, the room would be all hers. But now it wasn't time for that. Her plan would be set into motion...now.

Exiting her room, Karin picked the small bag of money that stood beside her bag, and went to the Shiba's, where only Ganju stood, cleaning the floor. Leaving the money of the kimono on the counter for them, Karin bid goodbyes to Ganju and strolled around the town for the rest of the afternoon, often ignoring the sudden headache and dizziness that came over her from time to time.

Finally arriving to the hut, Karin noticed that Orihime had already left, her mother and Yuzu where cooking dinner, while Isshin searched through her messenger bag with perplexity. Allowing her lips to curl into a perfect, noble smirk, Karin proceeded to plaster on a confused façade as Isshin turned to her.

"Karin, did you buy everything?" Faking an equal perplexity, Karin nodded, approaching the table.

"Yah, I bought everything on the list. Why?" Isshin hummed in confusion, not taking his eyes from the interior of the bag.

"Well, one ointment bottle is missing." Karin clicked her tongue, and stood up.

"Looks like I lost it. No sweat, I'll be back around tomorrow noon or something." Hearing the conversation, Masaki turned, her lips curled down in slight disapproval.

"But sweetie, you just got here today. It's getting dark, and I'm sure your father has more of those bottles of ointment left. And you haven't eaten anything lately." Karin roled her eyes, keeping herself steady when the movement made her feel faint, and waved her hand dismissively.

"It'll be fine. B'sides, if I leave later, then I'll be absent for a whole day as it gets near Yuzu's wedding. Don' worry mom, I'll be back by noon." With a wave and a rustle of placing her cloak over her shoulders, Karin exited, placing her hood as she noticed the snow falling outside, when Yuzu's voice stopped her.

"Are you sure it's fine, Karin-chan?" Sighing as the took the horses reins in her hand, Karin smiled at Yuzu, calmly trotting in the direction of the forest.

"Stop worrying so much. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye!" And then she disappeared, leaving her sister to sigh and re-enter the warmth of her home.

As soon as she was out of range, Karin pulled on the reins, turning the peaceful trot into an aggressive gallop in the direction of the path that she had taken. Last night it took her hours due to her panic, making her go through wrong ways numerous times, having to repeat the paths again, adding more to her stress. But now it took her no longer than 3 hours, and she was already at the place where the trails split. Ignoring the waves of nausea and the increasing shivers passing through her body no matter how clothed she was, Karin pulled on the reins to stop the mount.

Tying the horse in the same branch with a loose knot, Karin shakily entered the dark path, which now, in the middle of the night, showed no indications of where she was stepping, the faint, dim light at the bottom of the path her only source. Irritated by how lightheaded she felt, Karin quickened her pace, later discovering that it wasn't that good of an idea as she started to see everything blurry.

She finally arrived at the gates, the architecture of the place even more frightening now in the dark of the night than in any hour of the day.

It had not taken much for her to open the gates. They were old, battered, and it seemed like no one had opened it in years. The thought gave her shivers up and down her spine.

Faintly aware of the excessive amount of melted snow sticking to her hair and clothes, although her skin was boiling hot, Karin forced her aching body to take faint steps in the direction of the big, mahogany doors to the castle.

Passing through the empty, dead quiet garden, only added more nerve wrecking waves to her, and she barely let out a sigh of relief when she finally reached the old, colossal entry.

The two doors were even easier to open than the gate, however, the huge echo of the hinges creaking through the castle gave Karin the urge to scream and curl up to a ball.

If Karin thought that the outside was scary, then the inside was positively horrific.

It was dead cold inside. You could barely feel the wind in the wide, empty room. Right before the door, there was a big flight of stairs, covered by a red luxurious carpet, which at the top, lead to two different halls, and then the stairs continued it's ascend forward. The faint smell of dust covered the air, and Karin suddenly realized that beside the attention-grabbing stairs, there were doors in each wall of the wide room.

Closing the doors behind her, Karin let her back fall against the hard wood, silently cursing at herself for starting to feel nauseous, her legs trembling and her eyes heavy. Quickly drawing a hand to her forehead, she grit her teeth. Great. A fever! Just when things were starting to go bad, it _had _to get worse. Feeling too lightheaded, her mind grasped what little sanity it had left.

"I-I-Ich-chi-ni...?" Although spoken in a whisper, Karin's words echoed harshly in the room, but she payed no heed to it, as the next thing she felt was her body collapsing to the ground and her eyes fluttering closed, but not before seeing a glimpse of glowing turquoise eyes glaring at her from the shadows.

* * *

Only a few moments later after she had collapsed, did he allow himself to leave the shadows and to silently approach her figure, and to observe her closely from the first time, the intricate design of curiosity cautiously hidden behind his cold and haughty noble glare.

She had been there before. She saw him at the window, and he had almost gotten her, but then her brother had made her run away. Such thing made him _very_ angry. Kurosaki Ichigo knew the rules. No trespassers, or else they were made prisoners. He had let it slide though. From the expression on her face, it did not seem like she would return. But then she had, barely a day after...

..._fascinating._

However, the onyx-eyed woman lying before his feet made him cringe with disgust. How dare she? Anger seethed through his cold glare, and with a rustle of his long, black cloak, he had stepped back, not once lowering his hood.

Being careful so that his arms were covered with the cloth of his cloak, Hitsugaya Toshiro picked the girl up bridal style, turning to the stairs without any expression. As he disappeared with her from above the stairs, everyone in the castle personnel that had been eavesdropping behind the doors the moment they heard the door open tensed, waiting for what would happen next. The booming, cold voice, echoing through the walls next gave them their answer.

"Unohana." Politely asking for some people to move out of her way, the kind healer walked up the stairs, turning to the right hall from where their master's voice had come from to tend to the poor, ill girl.

In the back of the crowd, an orange-hair boy was found cursing at everything, with a petite, black haired woman holding his hand soothingly.


End file.
